The Phantom Pain Is Much Bigger Than Every Other Metal Gear Combined

When it comes to pure square footage, Konami's upcoming Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is easily the most expansive entry in the series to date. This point was recently illustrated by series creator Hideo Kojima, who held up a map showing the size of The Phantom Pain compared to the other main entries. The competition isn't even close.

The demonstration came in the latest episode of the Kojima Station webcast. The large square represents all of The Phantom Pain, and each of the other titles' total sizes are represented to scale. You don't need to examine the data for long to see that The Phantom Pain is staggeringly large.

The reveal comes only days before E3 next week, where Konami will likely be revealing a new trailer and additional info on The Phantom Pain.

Our TakeMetal Gear is one of my favorite series, so I always get excited when Kojima starts hyping up elements of a new entry before release. However, it's important to remember that sheer size is an easy talking point, but it isn't necessarily what makes Metal Gear games great. The depth of the gameplay within the space is what makes the series fun – the varied approaches, tricks, and numerous Easter eggs crammed into each area. That's not to say that The Phantom Pain won't have those things, but I hope they aren't spread thin over the game's massive surface area.